Thursday, October 30, 2014

St. Louis is located 122 kilometres northeast of
Saskatoon. The legend of the Ghost Train dates back to the 1920s, when a brakeman
either fell on the tracks, or was searching underneath a railway car, when the
train moved and he was decapitated.

According to the legend, ever since that tragic
event the poor brakeman has wandered the track every night with his lantern looking for his lost head, or the train has come down the line looking for the brakeman's body.

Either way, people claim that the light of that lantern or the train can still be
seen—even
though the tracks were pulled up in 1983.

Those who have seen the light say it moves up and
down along the old abandoned rail line, changing colours and varying in
brightness.

Les Rancourt, Mayor of St. Louis, is one of them.

"It basically looks like a street light from a distance that's a little brighter and gets a little dimmer," he told the Western Producer. "There's a little red light that's sometimes seen on either side of it."

The Ghost Train has also been featured on TV's Unsolved Mysteries, and on a Canadian stamp.

While the legend of a headless brakeman or ghost train is more fun,
especially around Halloween, skeptics say the light is nothing more than
headlights from passing cars some distance away.

Even though the tracks no longer run through St.
Louis, it seems that a train still does—the
Ghost Train, that is.

The village of St. Louis with the abandoned railway bridge.

More information about the Ghost Train here(with photos and video of the lights), here and here.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

While writing about the Oct. 14 death of my brother-in-law, Ken Epp, and his layout--the cougar River Sub.--I realized that I hadn't ever actually created a post of photos about the layout. Until now, that is; enjoy a tour of the layout, which existed from the mid-1980s until 2009.

The Cougar River Sub. (named after Ken’s cat) was one of the largest
layouts in Winnipeg. Started in the mid-1980s, it grew from a single level
layout in the back part of Ken’s basement to become a four-level layout that
encircled his entire basement.

Ken never intended to build a huge layout. “I just started and it
grew,” he told me.

Scenically, the layout featured mountain, prairie and Canadian Shield
scenes, including a concrete snow shed inspired by the Skoonka Tunnels in the
Thompson River Canyon. It featured trains from both CN and CP Rail, with classic
CPR maroon and grey running beside CN white, orange and black.

The mainline was over 500 feet long, and train lengths were 25-30
cars. Four trains could be run at a time on the DC-controlled layout; it took
about 25 minutes for a train to run unimpeded between the lower and upper
staging yards.

The lower and upper staging yards and two middlelevels are visible in this scene.

And by upper level staging, I mean upper—the staging yard
was suspended about a foot below the ceiling joists in the furnace and laundry
room area.

All four levels are in view here, including theupper level staging just below the ceiling.

All train movements were controlled by a dispatcher, who was located
in a small specially-built room that featured a seat from a real CN SD40-2; 40
operating signals and radios helped operators move their trains along the
line.

Ken was a musician, so naturally thelayout had to have a bandstand.

The Cougar River Sub. was a great canadian model railroad. It is is gone now, and so is its maker. But both can live on on this blog. And you can find links to videos of the Cougar River Sub. here.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

CPR CEO Hunter Harrison confirmed that discussions between the two
railways have ended.

Even though the CPR failed in its bid to merge with CSX, it continues to be
interested in merging with another railway. KCS has been cited as a potential
partner, or maybe Norfolk Southern. And the CPR itself might be open to being
taken over by one of the other large railways, Harrison said.

Whatever happens to the CPR, Harrison believes that that the North American
railway industry needs to find ways to address the growing gridlock caused by
rising freight volumes--especially oil.

More information about the CPR-CSX failed merger, and other news related to the CPR, can be found in the Globe and Mail hereand here.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Nothing lasts forever—not
model railroads, or the people who built them.

In 2009, my brother-in-law, Ken Epp
dismantled his HO scale Cougar River Subdivision,due to a planned move to a
condo. On Oct. 14, Ken passed away, due to cancer.

The Cougar River Sub. was one of the largest layouts in
Winnipeg—maybe the largest at that time. Ken hosted many open houses, and the
layout was open for several conventions. It was also featured on local and national TV.

A scene from the Cougar River Sub.

Together, we also organized the annual Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual
train show, starting in the early 1990s. Our first show was in our church's basement; thereafter, it was held at a local high school. I worked with Ken on the show until about five years ago, and he let it go three years ago.

Before Ken died, I had a chance to
talk with him about his interest in trains. I asked him where that interest came from.

One of Ken's favorite places wa the Skoonka tunnels inB.C.'s Thompson River Canyon. He modelled it on theCougar River Sub.

“Maybe it started when I was a child," he said. "I remember standing up in my crib
in Coldwater, Ont. when the 12:30 mail train came along. But how does it grow
and take hold? I don’t know. My love for trains just grew somehow.”

Ken
never intended to build a huge layout. “I just started and it grew.” Taking it
down wasn’t easy. “I took it down slowly, in pieces. It took me three years to
tear down the canyon scene.”

Taking down the layout was similar to how
Ken approached the end of his life. “Nothing is permanent, including me,” he
said. “That is reality of life.”

Ken and me in my layout room, two weeksbefore he died.

Looking back, Ken fondly recalled his
many train trips on VIA and Amtrak—over 180,000 miles by train in all. (Yes, he kept a record of each and every one.)

His many times taking the train made him a bit
of an informal expert, and he frequently found himself telling other passengers
about the terrain they were riding through or providing information about
railroading in Canada.

His favorite place: In the dome car onThe Canadian.

Ken’s favorite place to ride a train was in the
dome car of The Canadian.

“I have to say that sitting in the dome car at night
as the train goes across the Canadian Shield, watching the signals get knocked
down, seeing the northern lights and the snow on the trees—I don’t know if what
heaven is like, but for me, that’s heaven,” he said.

As for me, I was lucky to have a model railroader for a brother-in-law. In fact, my wife joked that I only married her because her brother liked trains. It wasn't true; we only discovered our mutual interest after the wedding. But it was a most fortunate discovery, and we spent many happy hours trackside or working on each other's layouts.

Of his layout itself, it featured
at 530-foot loop-to-loop three-level mainline that travelled through the rec room, spare
bedroom, small office space, washroom and other basement areas.

Another view of the Skoonka tunnels.

Scenically, the layout featured mountain, prairie and Canadian shield
scenes, including a concrete snow shed from the Thompson River Canyon.

In terms
of era and railway, it featured both CN and CP Rail, with classic CPR maroon and
grey running beside CN white, orange and black.

Train lengths were 25-30 cars,
and four trains could be run at a time. It took
about 25 minutes for a train to run between the lower and upper staging
yards.

All train movements were controlled by a dispatcher, who was
located in a small specially-built room that featured a seat from a real CN
SD40-2; 40 operating signals and radios helped operators move their trains along
the line.

In 2004 another friend, David R. Dyck, succumbed to cancer. Ken, Dave and I were church and model railroad friends, and took some railfan trips together. After Dave learned that his cancer was terminal, we took one last railfan trip; the photo below is from that trip. Now both Dave and Ken are gone.

Monday, October 13, 2014

If CSX and the CPR merged, what would it be called? CPSX? CPCSX? CSCPX?

It's fun to speculate, but we may never have to deal with a new name. According to the Wall Street Journal, CSX
rebuffed the CPR last week when it made an approach about a merger.The reason behind the merger talk is that both
railways are under pressure to cope with traffic backlogs
created by surging shipments of oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota.

No reason was given for why CSX said no, or if the CPR will try again. If the merger occurred, it would create a new transcontinental railway, reaching from the U.S. east coast to the Pacific ocean in B.C.

Of course, just because the media says CSX turned the offer down, that doesn't mean something might not be happening.

Canadian
Pacific is the second-largest rail shipper of Bakken crude after BNSF Railway
Co. According to sources, it has been seeking to partner with a
railway that can extend its reach from the West to deliver the crude to
eastern-based refineries.

More than one million barrels of crude are shipped daily on
the rails from the Bakken region.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

What--a VIA Rail FP40PH-2D pulling freight on CP Rail? Yes, and not just on my layout. In 1994-95 (the years I model), CP Rail leased a number of VIA units to haul
freight trains. (See the John Reay photoof a leased VIA Rail unit leading a CP Rail eastbound at Newtonville, Ontario on Railpictures.ca for proof.)So I thought I'd replicate that on the M & M Sub., using a couple of Athearn GP-38 units and a Spectrum unit. (Sorry, Jason; no Rapido Trains FP40PH-2on my layout. At least, not yet.)

Friday, October 10, 2014

(I took this photo back in July at a book store in Montreal. I meant to post it earlier. Better late than never, I suppose.)

It's not like being on the cover of the Rolling Stone, something finally achieved by the group Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show back in 1973.(After sarcastically begging for it in a song of the same name.)

But I did get on the cover of Model Railroader this past August. Well, a line about the article I wrote made it to the cover, at least. There it is, at the bottom: "Use tree bark to model rock walls."

Who cares about the Rolling Stone if you can be on the cover of one of North America's leading model railroad magazines?

Addendum: In the article, I noted how I don't use tree bark with moss on it, and how I put the bark in the freezer to kill any bugs that might come alone for the ride. A couple of letter writers in the September issue of Model Railroader said that the best way to kill bugs is with heat. They may be right, but after 15 years or so I have never had any trouble with bugs of any kind.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

It was 1994 when we moved into our present house. The layout didn't start that month, of course. But the groundwork was laid for its creation as I began to doodle trackplans for the new space.

Before any benchwork was built, the room was painted sky blue, and a wall was taken out. Construction started late in 1994. By September, 1995, the lower level was completed and the first train was running.

Over the past 20 years, the layout has undergone changes. The triple deck in the middle of the room is gone, replaced by a single level. (See Before and After and Going, going, gone.)

A fun fact: The layout is set in the early 1990s, with a cut-off date of 1995. In other words, when I started I was modelling the contemporary scene. Now I am modelling history, or what used to be!

At 20 years, it's one of the older layouts in the city, but not the oldest. The oldest two layouts were started in 1968; compared to them, the CP Rail M & M Sub. is a youngster. But at a time when people are so mobile, and things don't last very long, it's still a fair achievement.

And it's feels good to know that many others have been able to enjoy the layout through this blog. There have been over 23,000 views of my post that gives an overview of the layout--by far the most views of any post on the blog.

I've also been able to share it via magazines. The layout, or parts of it, have appeared in Railroad Model Craftsman twice, in Model Railroader once, and a couple of times in Canadian Railway Modeller.

It's been a good run. The layout has given me focus, escape from the pressures of daily and work life, and something to share with friends in Winnipeg--and across Canada and around the world through this blog.

About Me

Click here for a topical index to the blog.
Click here for an index by year to the blog.
Click here for an index of Great Canadian Model Railroads.
Click here for an overview of the layout from the December, 2009 Railroad Model Craftsman.
Click here to view videos of the layout on YouTube.
Click here for a track plan.